


Taken For Granted

by TerryAnne



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Swapfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bara Sans (Undertale), Blankets, Blood, Blood and Injury, Comfort/Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Depression, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Forehead Kisses, Gentle Kissing, Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Horrortale Sans (Undertale), Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kissing, Literal Sleeping Together, Magic, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mild Blood, Morning Cuddles, Nesting, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Nonbinary Character, One Big Happy Family, Other, Pack Cuddles, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Protective Sans (Undertale), Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader-Insert, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Soulmates, Sad and Happy, Sans (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Sans (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Self-Indulgent, Skeletons, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepiness, Sleepovers, Sleepy Cuddles, Soul Bond, Soul Sex, Soulmates, Souls, Swapfell Sans (Undertale), THERE IS NO EXPLICIT OR EVEN DESCRIBED RAPE IN THIS FIC, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underswap Sans (Undertale), Undertale Monsters on the Surface, Undertale Skeletons in Heat, Undertale Spoilers, Worried Sans (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25802218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerryAnne/pseuds/TerryAnne
Summary: When you had been kicked quite mercilessly out of your home of four years, you never expected to find yourself miles from home, in the middle of the woods on a cold autumn night...In a house full of very similar-looking skeletons.Oh well. Sometimes life surprises you, huh?
Relationships: Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Skeleton(s) (Undertale) & Reader
Comments: 43
Kudos: 206





	1. Warmth For Granted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You stumble through the woods after a horrible experience to find yourself in the company of some rather strange skeletons.

Disgusting.

You felt absolutely, totally, and completely disgusting.

And very little of that had to do with the fact that you were currently sitting on the protruding root of a twisted oak tree, covered in dirt, sweat, and a little bit of blood dripping from the gash in your forehead.

It was because of him.

Asshole.

You must've looked like such a mess, panting and sobbing as you tried to catch your breath. The night was so cold you could feel the edges of your pajamas beginning to freeze on the fringe of the cloth, oversaturated with sweat. Your skin was so cold it had passed into the territory of numb, and you cringed as you rubbed your tingling fingers over the frigid skin of your arm, doing little to ward off the painful cold. 

It didn't even occur to you that you now had no idea where the hell your car was because you had run so far into these woods until you glanced up into the darkness around you. It then occurred to you that you had no idea where these woods even were. When you had hopped into your car after the door of your apartment slammed loudly behind you, you had driven as far and as fast as you could, crying too hard to see much in the inky blackness of the night. It could've been minutes, it could've been hours. The next thing you knew, you were here, collapsing onto a tree.

How had you gotten here? Why were you bloody? And why were you so fucking dirty?

The reality of the situation set in quickly, and you could feel yourself begin to shut down. You were going to die out here. You were too exhausted to move, too shocked to speak, much less scream, and honestly, it didn't even matter to you if you wasted away right here, your body left to give back to the earth.

A light flickered in the darkness.

Your gaze immediately snapped to a red glow that furrowed out in a beautiful pattern before fizzling out, creating a dazzling display a few feet in front of you. You stared dumbly at it for a few moments, dimly registering that it must be from a monster before a sharp gasp caught your attention to your left. You turned your head to see two white dots suspended in midair.

"it's you."

You jolted upright as a deep, drawling voice thundered from where the dots of light floated, startling you so badly you snapped into a standing position, hands clenched at your sides as you stared, caught like a deer in headlights, at the dots in front of you. After a few minutes of staring, unmoving, the tiny area around you lit awash in red light, revealing what you finally registered as a monster.

A giant, at-least-seven-foot-tall, skeleton monster.

"please, don't scream. i promise i'm not gonna hurt ya." The massive skeleton practically begged, his hands held in front of him in a soothing gesture.

Hands covered in blood-red, glittering, fire magic.

Your brain malfunctioned. Suddenly, you felt like you were floating above your head, watching from a distance as your eyes zeroed in on the dazzling lights and stayed there, half-lidded and empty. You felt nothing. Not fear, not shock. Just a numb indifference. Dissociation. 

"sweetheart? are you...okay? nice, red, real intelligent question to ask your obviously shocked soulmate. okay, honey, do you mind if i touch you? the fire won't hurt you, i promise." The skeleton, Red, you gathered, asked, and you suddenly snapped to attention, recoiling slightly as you were sucked back in your body, feeling the numb release of dissociation tugging at you.

"No, no no no, I'm too dirty, I'll get you dirty too." You mumbled, and the skelet-Red looked at you with a strange, confused scowl.

"you aren't dirty love, it's just a little blood. please, let me heal you." He asked once again, his voice more pleading than before.

You weren't dirty? But... You glanced down, taking in your appearance. You weren't dirty. There was no dirt. But you could feel it, the dirt, the oil, the feeling of being utterly disgusting. You were dirty. You were dirty. You were dirty.

"darling? you're having a panic attack. listen to me, okay? i'm not going to hurt you. you aren't dirty. please, just let me heal you."

You couldn't breathe. You stared deeply into the eyelights of the skeleton in front of you, who looked back at you with a face of intense concern. Care. Understanding. You couldn't breathe. You couldn't understand it. Who was he? Where were you? What's going on? And more importantly, is he here? Oh god, oh god oh god oh god...

"sweetheart!"

And it was over.

********

"BLUEBERRY, LEAVE THE TINY HUMAN ALONE! SANS INSTRUCTED US NOT TO TOUCH HER WITHOUT HER EXPRESS PERMISSION!"

What was that voice? And why was it so loud? and what was the warm, smooth sensation fluttering on your forearm? Why couldn't you open your eyes?

"PAPYRUS, SHE IS MY SOULMATE! I WOULD NEVER HURT HER!"

Papyrus, you assumed, replied in a softer voice.

"I Do Not Think That Is What He Is Worried About."

You tried to catch the other person's reply, but sleep claimed you before you could.

...

The next time you awoke, the voice speaking to you was much softer. Gentle. Sweet, even. A voice you knew, one you recognized but couldn't quite place.

"...lucky to have ya here now. you're beautiful, ya know that? absolutely stunning. i've only heard your voice once, but even that was absolutely stunning. i'm sorry i scared ya back in the forest, but i tried to help, and when you started to panic i...i didn't know what to do. so i took you back here. axe liked you right away, and so did his brother. even boss seemed taken by you, even if just a little bit. course, he did disappear off to who knows where right after. ya know, we..."

And you slept once more.

...

The next time you awoke, it was silent.

The first thing you noticed was that you had been bundled up in some imaginably soft fabric within an inch of your life. You felt like you'd been swamped in fabric, swooping in endless waves under, over, and around you. You were laying on your side, clutching tightly at something that felt suspiciously like a fuzzy creature. As your brain began to process what was around you, you forced your eyes open, blinking as your pupils contracted painfully in the light. 

You immediately noticed that you were clutching onto a stuffed lioness, brand new, and one of the nicest stuffed toys you'd ever seen. You gazed at it for a few moments, numbly, before you gazed around your room, taking it in with the interest of a bored toddler.

The room was a very nice, five-star hotel room, with a large flat-screen TV, large, open, perfectly clean windows, and cream walls with clean, modern accents. The room was tasteful, yet completely and totally useless in helping you decipher where the actual hell this place was. 

You sat up slowly, watching the blankets fall away from you as a strange sensation of disconnect washed over you. You were so numb you couldn't even be bothered to worry about where you were. Was this some kind of bizarrely human afterlife? Was The Good Place right after all? Not that it mattered anyway. Not after...

"sweetheart! yer awake!" 

Your gaze shifted slowly to the door, which must've opened at some point when you were stuck in your thoughts. Standing there, now in broad daylight, was the skeleton you'd met in the forest. Red, you dimly registered. the name was immediately fitting as the red of his undershirt caught your eye. concealing this shirt was a large black parka, that looked much too warm for the chilly fall, but seemed to fit him nicely.

You blinked slowly at him as he stepped inside, a large, genuine grin spread across his face, revealing a row of sharp, shark like teeth. One tooth glinted gold in the sunlight, and your eyes widened an imperceptible fraction as you focused on it for a few moments. You followed his glinting smile as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed a couple of feet from your folded legs. You watched him ceaselessly and noticed as he began to sweat small, red beads.

"it's been almost a whole day since I found ya. the sun should be setting soon, maybe in another hour. 'm sorry that i had to carry you here but i couldn' just leave ya there because...well, there's a lot of reasons."

You shifted your attention to his words, moving to reply, but feeling as if you couldn't speak. You went to open your mouth to try to form the words, but the effort left you stressed and exhausted, so you dropped your gaze to your lap and wrung your hands, a flush lighting across your face.

"shy, huh? that's okay, you're not the only one. axe hardly ever talks, and sans can be pretty shy a lot of the time too. though probably not with ya on account of the fact that your his...i'm rambling, aren't i? i know, i should introduce you to the others!"

You looked up from your tangled hands as you felt his weight leave the bed, making a beeline for the door. You vaguely heard him mutter something about Papyrus before he was gone, before you could even remember to ask if he knew ASL. You stared out of the open door, into an unassuming hallway that gave you no more information as it opened up into a room just as pristine and minimalist as this one.

You tugged the remaining bedding off of your legs and swung them out of bed, determined to check the extent of the damage to your head on the small mirror hanging in the bathroom attached to your room. Your legs were sore and stiff, but you managed to get out of bed with little issue, and you glanced down to see how badly your pajamas were torn.

You were more than a little surprised to find yourself dressed not in a pair of plain blue pajamas, but instead a slightly too big T-shirt and a pair of black shorts. You squinted down at the words on your shirt and finally figured out that they had a sentence written entirely in Japanese, a picture of a neko girl, and the words “Mew Mew Kissy Cutie” written in bright pink bubble letters.

You know, maybe it was intuition, but something told you that this shirt didn’t belong to Red.

Wait, who had changed you?

You shook the thought off and headed towards the bathroom, only to stop as a shorter, but much flashier skeleton came barreling down the hallway, followed by a much taller, slightly less flashy skeleton wearing a parka similar to Red. The shorter of the pair, obviously a figure that commanded respect, must’ve been six foot even, stuttered in his steps a bit as you locked eyes.

The shorter was dressed in a strange type of armor, that left what would be his midriff exposed and was topped by an orange scarf. His counterpart wore a similar orange undershirt and had the stick of a lollipop hanging from his partially agape mouth. He too, had a tooth of gold. It was then that you noticed that the two skeletons had stopped stark in front of you, both looking at you with matching faces of wonder.

“Hello, human. My name is Blackberry, and this is my brother Mutt. Come with me.”

When the shorter of the pair, evidently named Blackberry, spoke, he held a certain air of confidence bordering on arrogance that warned you not to protest. Not that you could speak even if you tried, so when he spun on his heel, his brother sidestepping to let him pass, you followed wordlessly behind, falling in step with Mutt.

The walk was silent and somewhat awkward, but as you traveled down the hall, you could hear voices coming from the room that opened up at the end. You passed a few unopened doors that were each painted a different color, strange against the cream walls. Mutt stared down at you unapologetically, giving you a subtle nod, which you returned politely, when you met his eyes.

“You have been in my house for almost a day, and still have not properly met any of the residents here. This disrespect will not continue. I am taking you into the kitchen, where you can meet the cooks of the household. While they are not as good as myself, I prefer to not have to do such menial tasks,” Blackberry said with a grand sweep of his hand as the hallway opened up into a bright, tiled room reminiscent of a hotel suite kitchen. 

Everything was perfectly spotless, as if this really was cleaned daily by maids. The only way you could tell that anyone lived there was the line of many individual coats that hung on the wall by, what you imagined, was the front door. By the looks of it, a lot of people lived here. As your trio turned to the right, you were greeted with a scene that immediately felt homey and heartwarming, even if you’d never met most of the people in it.

Closest to you in the kitchen was easily the shortest of all the skeletons, only a few inches taller than you, at best, wearing armor almost identical to Blackberry. This armor, however, was mostly grey instead of black, with blue accents and the cutest blue bow you’d ever seen in your life. Unlike most of the other skeletons, who either had no eyelights or simple white dots, this little cinnamon roll had two bright, blue stars, glittering in his sockets. He seemed to be busy messing with some ground beef when he turned to look at you three.

Behind him, standing at the same height as Mutt, was a very normal, happy looking skeleton wearing an apron that read “KISS THE COOK COOL DUDE” and a plain white shirt underneath. He seemed to be stirring a pot that boiled on the stove, though his eyes were trained on you.

“HELLO, HUMAN! I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU ARE FINALLY AWAKE FOR OUR SPECIAL SPAGHETTI AND TACO DINNER! WE MADE IT SPECIAL JUST FOR YOU! MY NAME IS PAPYRUS, AND THIS IS BLUEBERRY!” The taller of the two, Papyrus, exclaimed quite loudly, causing you to shrink closer to Mutt, who gave you a curious and concerned look.

You gave him a small, shy wave, knowing you wouldn’t be able to speak for a long time, and hoping you wouldn’t come off as rude. Papyrus grinned happily at you and you sighed in relief. That relief was short lived, however, as Blueberry barrelled towards you, slamming into you and pulling you into a tight hug. You startled, your throat growing tight as panic overwhelmed you for a moment, the feeling of being touched so suddenly very invasive, before he abruptly released you, stepping back with an apologetic smile.

“I AM SORRY, LITTLE HUMAN, I FORGOT MY MANNERS. IT IS NICE TO FINALLY MEET YOU.” He said, his tone colored with concern.

“blue, what did i tell you about leaving her alone? and black, did you really have to drag her out of her room for introductions? you know we can all be pretty shocking to a newcomer.” a new voice joined the fray, saving you from having to figure out how to verbally respond.

The new monster, another skeleton, which was starting to get a little suspicious considering you remember reading somewhere that they were rare. This skeleton must’ve been six foot even, with a big, fluffy blue hoodie and a white undershirt, finished off with a pair of black basketball shorts. He seemed pretty laid back, both hands hidden away in his pockets as he sauntered over to you, but it was clear in his expression that he was...worried?

“you okay?” he asked you quietly, so that only you, him, and Mutt, who had moved closer to you in your discomfort from Blueberry, could hear him.

You nodded minutely, though your blood felt like it was buzzing from adrenaline and your stomach roiled with nausea. He stepped a bit closer, and you drew in on yourself, averting your eyes a bit as he checked you over for injuries. His eyes looked oddly concerned, like he was looking for any semblance of a superficial injury.

“are you sure? i know blue can be a handful. anything still wrong from last night? Is there anything i can get you?”

Okay, too much stimulation. You were already nonverbal, but now there was so much noise, and so many new people, and new information, and… You take a few steps back, eyes wide with fear.

And slam right into someone else.

You immediately back away a tiny bit, turning around quickly to see a wide expanse of bony rib cage- 

Oh.

Oh jesus. 

That is a _lot_ of rib cage. 

You begin to look up, and your gaze keeps going, up and up, and up. To meet one large, red, glowing eyelight, and…

His skull…

Oh my god.

It looked like someone had taken a shotgun and shot a huge section of this poor, _massive_ skeleton’s head off, leaving one eye socket horribly injured. His face was mostly neutral, well, as neutral as a smile can be, but his eyes stared into your soul, freezing you in place.

Your legs shook uncontrollably, and you began to buckle a bit, doing all you could to stay standing. You noticed out of the corner of your eye that Mutt had reached his arms out to grab you, but he didn’t get the chance. Between one breath and the next, you were suddenly suspended in midair, much higher than anyone in the room.

The massive skeleton was _carrying_ you.

“axe! put her down! you’re gonna scare her!” Mutt shouted, and you would’ve been interested to pay more attention to what his voice sounded like, if a horrible, nauseating sensation didn’t wash over you, your eyes closing of their own accord.

When the dizziness finally cleared, you opened your eyes, shocked to find yourself back in the bedroom you started in. Axe said nothing, nudging the door closed with his shoulder and setting you on the bed. Thousands of questions zipped through your head, but you knew it was a hopeless endeavor to try to speak, so instead, you settled for watching every move Axe made.

Gently, so carefully you’d think you were made of glass, he set you down on the mattress, peeling back the covers only to tuck them back over you as you straightened out your legs. You stared up into his unblinking eye, strangely calm as you took in his woodsy, almost gamey scent.

“rest, little lamb. i will not let any of the others in until you are ready.”

Oh dear.

What had you gotten yourself into?


	2. Voice For Granted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a quite stressful questionnaire from our favorite skellies, you finally are able to reveal that you are currently stuck in a quite annoying nonverbal spell, and you get to do some somewhat awkward, very charming, one-sided introductions.

Axe was… interesting.

He was always completely silent. Due to his lack of necessity for breath, he made no sound as he sat on the end of the bed. Neither of you spoke, but the silence didn’t feel unnatural. It was obvious pretty quickly to you that Axe wasn’t a talker, but his single eyelight never left your face as you laid next to him.

You didn’t realize how stressed you were until you really began to relax, breathing evening out as you trained my eyes to the ceiling. As you became calmer, Axe’s somewhat oppressive atmosphere relaxed, and you eventually sunk into a comfortable silence, where you focused on your breath and tried to force your voice to work.

Axe seemed to stare deeply into your soul, his single eyelight flickering across your form as if he was trying to memorize every part of you in perfect detail. You avoided his gaze as much as you could manage, feeling his stare piercing through you in a way that made your skin crawl and made you feel painfully vulnerable. It reminded you too much of…

A thudding knock sounded at the door.

“I’LL TALK TO THEM…”

“i don’t know if that’s such a good idea, blue. they seem kinda scared of you. maybe pap or i should go in there.” 

“like hell, vanilla. i’m the one who found ‘em and they trust me the most. let me in there and i’ll get ‘em away from ‘im.”

“CALM DOWN, RED, SANS AND AXE HAVE DONE NOTHING TO HURT THEM YET. AND DON’T FORGET, THEY BELONG TO ALL OF US, NOT JUST YOU.”

Wait. Did he just say you  _ belong to them? _

“i haven’t hurt them, and i don’t intend to. now leave.” Axe growled, and the muttering behind the door abruptly stopped.

“we don’t think you’re gonna hurt ‘em, axe. we’re just worried that they aren’t too comfortable with someone as...intimidating as you hovering around them.” Red called out, a little louder then before and you glanced up at Axe as he turned away from you and towards the door.

The doorknob began to shake as one of the people standing on the other side of the door attempted to get in, and you shuddered as your m muscles tensed reflexively, and your throat tightened. A deafening, animalistic growl reverberated through the room, startling you in its intensity. You felt an immediate spark of anxiety shoot through you at that moment, as your breathing quickened and you curled into yourself.

“axe? what was that for? sweetheart? are you alright?” Mutt’s voice called from the other side of the door, and you flinched violently at the sound, leaning towards Axe reflexively.

Axe looked back down at you, and his eyelight seemed to sharpen, focusing in on you like the laser of a rifle. In the blink of an eye, you, and the blankets covering you, were scooped up in one fell swoop and deposited in the lap of your much larger skeleton companion. You gawked a bit, feeling the smooth hardness of his ribs press against your lightly clothed back. You forced a small squeak out of your throat, the sound draining you.

“kiddo?! are you okay? axe i swear to god if you hurt them i’ll send you back to your miserable home myself.” A voice similar to Red’s, belonging to the person they called Vanilla, snarled threateningly from the other side of the door.

“BROTHER? IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?”

A new voice joined the fray, and Axe’s arms tightened around you as he tucked you tightly into himself. He seemed to be preparing for something when a red light glowing from his eye bathed the room. The door lock was engulfed suddenly in red flames and then flipped around of its own accord, swinging open so hard it slammed into the wall.

Standing there, with an amusing array of expressions on their oddly malleable skeletal faces, were the members of this odd household. Standing, hunched over quite a bit, in the center of this hodgepodge was by far the tallest sentient creature you’d ever seen, monster and human alike. Where Axe was wide and seemed to fill a room just by existing, this skeleton was as thin as a beanpole but so tall that his head was bent at an awkward angle as the back of his skull pressed against the ceiling.

Your eye traveled to his mouth.

Those  _ teeth _ .

Oh god, poor baby.

“sweetheart!” Red’s voice pierced through your thoughts, and you flinched, the loud, unexpected sound agitating your already high overstimulation and anxiety. 

Axe growled warningly, and though Red had begun to step forward to try and see if you were okay, he stopped in his tracks with a vile glare. Axe’s arms tightened around you, and you barely managed to force out a mangled squeak before your throat closed up again, tight with anxiety.

“don’t be afraid of me, little lamb. i won’t hurt you, and i won’t let them hurt you either. my brother, sugar, is completely safe to be around, and he’s learning ASL.” Axe bent down and whispered in your ear, and your eyes widened in surprise.

You turned your head as he pulled back a bit and did your best to ask him with your expression how he knew. And how did his brother seem to know too even though he hadn’t seen you yet? You made a mental note to ask him more details once you could actually talk.

“i have some experience with mental issues. i can recognize a few non-verbal issues.”

Huh. Who would’ve guess...oh wait, he has a  _ massive hole in his skull _ .

You turned your head back to the doorway as Sugar stepped through, ducking down under the far too short doorway to stand straight in this strange room, just barely tall enough to have his head barely brush the ceiling. You looked up at him, keeping your eyes from his teeth and instead looking into his somehow warm and friendly eye sockets that seemed filled with sincerity.

“Are you deaf?” He signed, and you perked up, thrilled to see a language you could use even now.

“No.” You signed back, movements frantic and anxious. “But I am non-verbal for now. It will end. Can you tell me what’s going on? Where am I?”

“what are they doin’?” Red asked, peeking his head around Sugar to see our hands. 

The other skeletons pressed tightly into each other as if they were worried, and you smelled a slight tinge of cedar in the air and noticed the hair of your arms raising. You looked at all of them as your anxiety slowly rose, the number of very strange monsters and the reality of the situation sinking in. Your hands began to shake violently as you started to sign again, not giving Sugar enough time to respond.

“Wait, what is this place? Will you all hurt me? Where is my car? What is this place? Who are you!”

Noticing your obvious panic, Axe began to gently rub your upper arm, an action that would normally make you jerk away, but instead was extremely comforting. Your hands dropped as you hugged your arms close to yourself, trying to keep your breathing calm as you fought the ugly feeling rising in your throat.

“DON’T WORRY SMALL HUMAN! NONE OF US ARE GOING TO HURT YOU.” Sugar exclaimed, and you flinched back, leaning into Axe.

“My Apologies. I Promise That You Are Safe Here WIth Us, Small Human. We Will Answer Any Questions You May Have.” Sugar lowered his voice, and you forced your muscles to relax, struggling to suppress the fight or flight instincts bubbling up in you.

“Please, just tell me where I am.” You begged, hands still trembling.

“This Is The House Of Sans, Brother Of The Monster Representative of The Underground, Papyrus. The Rest Of Us Are...Family Of Sorts. We All Reside Here, In This Lodge Almost Six Miles Away From Ebott City, In The Woods To The West. When Red Found You, You Were Almost A Mile Away From Your Car, Which You Had Abandoned On The Road. Red Returned You To Our Home After You Fainted, And We Noticed Your HP Was Dangerously Low. Unfortunately, Despite Our Many Attempts To Heal You, It Seems To Remain Particularly Low.” Sugar explained, his voice sure and kind.

“i promise, no one here is gonna hurt you, kiddo.” From behind Sugar, the laid back skeleton whose name you’d never received stepped slightly into the room, ignoring Axe’s warning growl. “the name’s sans, sans the skeleton. your car is in the garage and you can leave at any point. is there someone you can go back to? do you have a house or flat in the city?”

Sans’ voice sounded strained and reluctant as if it pained him to ask if you had someone else to go back to. You saw varying degrees of pain, anger, frustration, and concern flash across the faces just outside the door. Axe shifted almost immeasurably, stilling so that he felt like a statue behind you. Tears pricked your eyes as you realized the reality of your situation.

A new skeleton you hadn’t noticed stepped up, and your mind reeled from just how many people there were in this strange place. He wore an orange hoodie that looked similar to Sans’, but he was much taller than Sans, a touch taller than Mutt. A small stick hung from his mouth, and you suddenly realized that he was sucking on a lollipop of sorts. He stopped a bit after a quick glance at your shoulder. Your eye widened as he lifted his hands and quickly signed S-T-R-E-T-C-H, before pointing to himself. 

The distraction offered you momentary relief, taking a strange sense of comfort in knowing the names of everyone who lived in the household. However, that relief was short-lived, and as dread settled back in, your mind began to spiral dangerously.

You were lost, away from the city, away from home, with nowhere, and now, no  _ one  _ to go back to. In a moment of desperation and hollow hopelessness, you dropped your hands and began to silently cry. All of the skeletons around you seemed frozen for a minute, while your tears continued to flow faster, and you finally broke out into horrible sobs.

“ah, pumpkin, don’t cry. m’lord, what do i do?” Mutt said quietly, and you glanced up to see a pained grimace mirrored on both Black and Mutt’s face.

“Comfort her, Mutt. I won’t stand for such sniveling in my presence.” Black snarled, but you could see that worry creasing his bone.

“try it.” Axe growled, tightening his grip on you and drawing you under his chin.

“woah woah woah, everyone calm down before we get into a fight again, yeah? they’re okay, and all you idiots are doing is scaring them when sugar just got them to calm down.” Sans said, stepping into the room and motioning Mutt to stay where he was.

You stared up at all of the skeletons standing around you, your face twisted into a pout as tears flowed freely down your face. Sans and Sugar looked down at you, ignoring the way Axe clung to you like a lifeline. As his eyelights met your eyes, his face fell, and you could practically feel the sadness pouring off of him in waves.

“alright, hon. i’m gonna ask one more time, okay? do you have anywhere to go back to?”

This stranger, who just so happened to be one of many very large, seemingly powerful skeleton monsters, was asking you if you had anyone to go back to. Everything about this was screaming at you “STRANGER DANGER” and telling you to get the  _ hell _ out of here. But these skeletons were trying so hard, and something in your chest pulled you towards them like they could help you solve your issues. Besides, it’s not like you had anywhere to live now anyway…

You slowly, deliberately, shook your head.

A collective sigh of relief and pity sounded through the room, and you startled a bit at the synchrony of the sound. Axe chuckled a bit and began to pet your back again, immediately helping to calm you some from your panic. At least if these skeletons planned on killing you, they had been nice to you so far and seemed like they liked you enough to not be too brutal.

“What are you going to do with me now?” You signed, your hands lethargic and defeated as your hope left you.

“Do To You? We Are Not Going To Do Anything  _ To  _ You, We Only Want To Help You. We Are Your...Are You Hurt!?” Sugar’s sentence stopped suddenly as his tone shifted into one of alarm and shock.

Immediately, the rest of the skeletons clambered inside, faces stony as a sense of urgency settled over the room. You flinched back into Axe, who immediately took up a defensive stance as he looked down at you. A glowing flash of numbers shone in front of you, glowing green and surprisingly dim. You watched as varying degrees of shock and concern passed over the faces of the skeletons as they looked at the space just above your heart, horror beginning to dawn on them.

“oh, sweetheart. what happened to you? you aren’t physically hurt, but your hp is dropping. i’ve never seen anything like this. why is your hp dropping?” Red began to fret over you, stepping close enough to Axe to gently rest his hands on your arms, ignoring the larger skeleton’s warning growl.

“i’ve seen this before, even had it happen to me once. back home we call it soul-ache. it’s what happens when a person...gives up.”

A tense silence settled over the room as the implications of what Sans said began to come to light. Sugar, Papy, and Blue looked mildly confused and very concerned as if they had just heard a diagnosis for their sick child in a dialect they didn’t recognize. Mutt’s gaze fell staunchly to the floor, a furrow in his brown bones nearly rivaling the deep scowl set on his brother’s face. Red, Stretch, and Sans had a look of thinly veiled understanding, relation, and devastation on their faces, colored with a staunchly similar hue of pity that was chillingly identical.

Axe was still behind you, unnecessary breaths stilled as if in horror or shock. You twisted a bit in his arms to see the look on his face, but he held you too tightly for you to do anything but squirm a bit, before giving up and looking back at your newfound friends. You were confused, but based off of what you’d learned about souls and HP, and the sullen air of the room, you had a pretty good idea of what Soul-Ache was.

“Soul-Ache? That sounds utterly ridiculous. What could be so bad that happened to this human that they would give up on their will to live?” Black’s arrogant tone cut through the air like a knife.

“you know what, pipsqueak, it’s none of your business. you act like you’re the only monster or human on the planet who matters, and considering who they are to you, to  _ us _ , i’m more than a little pissed that you’d dismiss their feelings so easily.” Stretch, who had mercifully signed his name to you earlier, jumped to your defense, startling the skeletons in the room.

“BROTHER, PLEASE CALM DOWN! YOU KNOW THAT ARGUING WITH THEM IS FUTILE. BESIDES, WE DON’T WANT TO CAUSE THEM ANY MORE STRESS.” Blue reached out and laid a comforting hand on his brother’s arm, and Stretch grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets with a huff.

“Soul-Ache?” You signed, though both Sugar and Stretch, who you assumed were the only ones who knew ASL, had their attention trained away from you.

As if by some divine coincidence, Papyrus, who had been quietly standing to the side with a sad look of remembrance and grief on his face, began to speak, catching the attention of the room.

“When My Brother First Became Afflicted, I Thought Little Of It. The Change In HP Was So Small, I Doubted It Would Ever Have Enough Of An Effect To Matter.”

Sans shuffled where he stood, flickering his eyelights around as he avoided the gazes that flickered to him every so often.

“Of Course, His HP Was So Low, That The Moment It Dropped Enough To Register, I Immediately Did All I Could To Remedy It. He Was Not Injured. He Was Just. Tired. Too Tired To Fight To Survive Anymore.”

The story abruptly ended, and you saw a single tear run down Papyrus’ face. Blue hugged him around his waist, the sight both touching and amusing, due to their heights. However, as light-hearted as that scene appeared, the heavy tone of the story rung out as if striking a chord of clarity.

So this was it, huh. You really had given up. What a fucking pity. Well, at least you knew no one back at home would cry for you. No one back at home would even notice.  _ He  _ would probably celebrate when your Hope drained away and your soul gave out. Hell, at this rate, with all the shit that you'd been through…

So would you.

A pang shot through your chest, and you choked on your own breath. A bright green light flashed in front of you, before quickly dulling in saturation. The pain quickly caught aflame and burned in an inferno of agony in your lungs, and a jolt of alarm and panic spread through the room like a wildfire sparked by your flame.

Bright lights shot over your vision, swallowing up the image of terrified skeletons before abruptly hurtling you into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad so many of the lovely people reading this love my story and love these boys so much! Thank you for all of your support guys! the idea of Soul-Ache comes from that one Underatle story that is literally so good and I can't remember the name but if anyone else recognizes it please tell me where it's from! I love you all!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, darlings! Tis' I, Terry Pie, and I am back with my first true multi-chapter fic with Undertale and It's my favorite trope, the Reader x Skellies trope. I do hope you'll join me on this emotional roller coaster.


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